In March of 2019, I walked away from all social media. No more Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. The reasons were varied and I wrote about them HERE, but essentially, I decided to invest in my real, actual relationships. I prioritized “in real life” over online life.
And then a year later, we were hit with a global pandemic and my real life and actual relationships all went online. There were no in-person gatherings. No coffee dates or lunches with friends. My interactions with loved ones were once again digital, mainly through FaceTime, Zoom, and Marco Polo.
Finally, in a moment of weakness and an extroverted cry from the depths of my social interaction-lacking soul, I reopened up my social media accounts. For a few weeks, I stalked my feeds, dipping my toe in the waters once again.
And I noticed the online world had changed.
Gone were the funny cat memes and silly blooper videos. Missing were silly Buzzfeed quizzes and endless photos of people’s meals. Shoot, I would have taken a bold-faced, “mom brag” post about Billy’s 6th place finish in the tae-kwon-do tournament!
Someone replaced the things that made social media a fun, entertaining way to waste an hour with negative, divisive attacks. Everywhere I turned people argued with other people. My feed was filled with rants, criticism, and judgment. Social media, once a light-hearted escape, now felt dark and flat-out mean.
And so, I walked away again. Who wants to deal with that kind of negativity all the time? Who needs to brace for impact before opening up an app on their phone that’s meant to be fun?
Not me.
But the negativity wasn’t confined to social media. It was everywhere. It seemed wherever I went, I experienced division, hate, misunderstanding, and aggression. The world felt dark.
What If?
A few more months passed and the questions occurred to me, “What if the world didn’t need to be so negative, divisive, and mean? And what if I could be a part of bringing back positivity, unity, and kindness?”
As a natural encourager, this got me excited! Yes, let’s start shining some light in this dark place. There’s no better forum for widespread joy than social media. I can reach a lot of people at one time and hopefully start to bring positivity, hope, and fun back to the apps.
I’ll say it’s been an uphill battle. There’s a whole lot of yuck out there. But, if not me, who? If not now, when?
Instead of complaining about how dark and manipulative and angry social media can be. And instead of avoiding it completely, I’m stepping in. I’m taking a stand for joy and light and love. I’m doing my best to counteract all the negativity with as much positivity as I can bring.
Like the ol’ Sunday school song goes, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!”
Want to join me?
